“The Laundress,” a 1730s painting by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin (1699-1779). From the collection of the State Hermitage, St. Petersburg. | Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images

You can’t stop the pandemic. But you can read a housekeeping manual that tells you how to remove any stain imaginable.

You don’t need me to tell you that the world is out of control right now. We’re living in the midst of a global pandemic, we’ll be living like this for months longer at the bare minimum, and there’s basically nothing any of us can do about it. Being alive right now means feeling powerless.

And so the question I pose to myself on a daily basis is: How do I keep from going feral with rage? And one of the answers I have found is: Read Home Comforts.

Home Comforts is a housekeeping manual written by Cheryl Mendelson,